When our son was three, he used to get excited when he would hear a “fever bird”—chickadee, to the rest of us—singing its spring melody. With a call that to the anticipating ear does sound like a sweetly-spoken “fee-ver,” the chickadee’s song reminds me now each spring of the excitement I feel as the new season arrives. As spring begins, let’s consider a few of the tasks to get started [...]
We gardeners are drawn to shiny new things—the lure of something new causes us to browse seed catalogs, stroll the aisles at garden centers, and try to convince our spouse to carve out just a little more flowerbed space. Admittedly, new introductions are exciting, but what I find most attractive are improvements on tried-and-true plants—something old, made new. As you get started with planting shrubs and perennials around your yard [...]
For as enthusiastic about gardening as I am, I’ll admit I find winter a wonderful season of refreshment with few gardening tasks. And this year, for the first time in several, we’ve experienced a real winter, complete with cold temperatures and snow. That said, spring isn’t far away, and as you work on your New Year’s resolutions, now is a great time to set some goals for your gardening [...]
